3 Things Learned from West Ham 0-0 Arsenal

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In yet another quality defensive showing, West Ham held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at The London Stadium. But what did we learn?

1. This could be it for Marko Arnautovic

Marko Arnautovic has been a frustrating talent long before he ever signed for West Ham. The Austrian obviously has genius in his game (recall José Mourinho moving heaven and earth to sign him for Inter) but his actual performances and production when placed against that genius is sadly lacking (recall José Mourinho never playing Arnautovic for Inter).

But now he seems to have found an unlikely home at West Ham under David Moyes, at least if this display against Arsenal is anything to by. Arnautovic was supreme against the Gunners, putting in a dynamic performance that was a half-step away from being a match-winning one, as Arnautovic scored a header whilst fractionally offside so it got ruled out.

This performance (5/6 dribbles completed, 3 effective clearances 4 shots on goal) was sensational. At times he showed such a magnificent combination of skill and athleticism that he genuinely looked like he could be a world-beater. West Ham could prove to be Marko Arnautovic’s big break.

2. So, West Ham are good now?

West Ham have now played Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in consecutive league games. They lost in the last second against City having defended superbly for the whole game, they shocked everyone by beating Chelsea, and now they drew with Arsenal (and could have snatched it at the death too, with Javier Hernandez hitting the crossbar late on).

That is an incredible run of results for a side as desperately poor as West Ham were, and it is now clear that the Irons have figured out how to play the big teams. Whatever else David Moyes has or hasn’t done, he has clearly put in place an effective blueprint for dealing with big sides.

This could present a problem going forward, where West Ham have now got more winnable games against Stoke, Newcastle and Bournemouth. These are games where West Ham will have to be proactive, and can Moyes coach that into his players as well as he does the reactive stuff? We shall find out.

3. Jack Wilshere is on the comeback trail

Wilshere had excelled for Arsenal this season in the Europa League, but with all due respects that’s the Europa League and none of the opponents were really any good.

But against West Ham, Wilshere was resplendent. A consummate central midfield performance where he passed it well (56/61 passes completed, 1 chance created), defended with passion (winning 3/3 tackles and making 3 interceptions) and just ran the show from the middle of the park.

Wilshere played all 90 minutes against West Ham, and the way he danced away from defenders all night long was majestic. If Arsenal can find a way to keep on easing him back into the team so his body doesn’t give out again? He could be “back.”